The United States receives unconfirmed reports of chemical weapons use in Syria every day, the director of national intelligence testified at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday morning.

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R., Colo.) revealed that the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently determined North Korea has the ability to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile, although with limited reliability, during Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for the Department of Defense is being met with fierce criticisms among congressional leaders and outside experts who say the budget is unrealistic and hurts the military’s ability to perform.

Defense and military officials testified that al Qaeda is gaining a foothold in several areas throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa in a hearing before a subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday afternoon.

U.S. strategic nuclear weapons and the command systems that control them are vulnerable to cyber attacks although most are hardened against many types of electronic attacks, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command said on Tuesday.

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) voted along party lines Tuesday to send the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of defense secretary to the floor of the Senate, paving the way for a potential showdown over the embattled nominee.

Lingering questions about defense nominee Chuck Hagel’s financial ties to foreign countries could provide his Republican critics with the political ammunition needed to prevent his nomination from leaving the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), according to multiple sources close to the confirmation process.

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel on Thursday faced a barrage of criticism about his fitness to be the next defense secretary, including his agreement with a controversial statement that the United States is the “world’s bully.”